Director Anu Valia joins Geoffrey to unpack the craft behind her feature We Strangers. We dig into keeping your voice while working in TV, building an indie over years, collaborating with actors who elevate subtext, and weaving race, class, and power into story without preaching. If you’re balancing paid gigs with personal work and wondering how to protect your vision, this one’s for you.
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What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How to keep your creative voice while directing for television
• A practical path from idea to finished indie feature
• Casting strategies that unlock subtext and performance
• Directing actors with clear, specific adjustments
• Writing themes of race, class, and power with nuance

Key Moments

• 00:23 Welcome and credits that shaped Anu’s eye
• 01:35 The journey of We Strangers and VOD access
• 04:54 The premise, subtext, and why the “tiny lie” works
• 06:58 Code switching, identity, and carrying the creative backpack
• 16:08 Why “great directing is casting” and working the scene

About the Guest
Anu Valia is a writer-director known for character-driven stories across film and television, including episodes of acclaimed series and the feature We Strangers.

About the Host
With films on network television, streaming platforms, and in theaters, Geoffrey D. Calhoun is a screenwriter, author of The Guide for Every Screenwriter, and a passionate mentor in the industry. He hosts The Successful Screenwriter podcast to empower writers and filmmakers at every level.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• We Strangers
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
• Shrinking
• And Just Like That…

Connect with Guest

• Learn more about We Strangers on VOD platforms

Connect with Geoffrey D. Calhoun

• Website: thesuccessfulscreenwriter.com
• Instagram: @screenwriterpod
• YouTube: @thesuccessfulscreenwriter

#screenwriting #filmmaking #directing #indiefilm #acting #casting #WeStrangers #AnuValia #TVdirector #storycraft





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